Stages of an Oral Presentation

Oral presentations are structured along the same lines as written ones and include the following stages to be considered below.

The organisation of a presentation reveals certain structural symmetry.
The initial stage, opening is aimed at establishing contact with listeners and commonly includes the following forms of addressing the audience: greeting (and introduction – if necessary) and expressing (positive) attitude to
the "forthcoming event" (and small talk –on informal occasions). Similarly,
the final stage signifying the task's completion, presupposes the same reversed: (positively) estimating the act of communication (often preceded by small talk –on informal occasions) and expressing gratitude to those present (and invitations encouraging further contacts – if necessary) and parting proper.

The second stage is commonly treated as feedforward (by the Americans), or as an advanced organizer (by the British). It intended to "set the stage"
for further verbal exchange by providing listeners with certain information.
By analogy with an introduction (say, to a monograph), or an abstract
(in written presentations), this information is specially organized to preview future messages contained in the main body and to promote better understanding.
To serve these functions you could employ a number of speech formulae called "previewers". They are quite useful if you need to specify some points in your presentation (the length of some parts, or their sequence, or your unwillingness to be distracted) or there are some potentially "problem" spots in the project (vaguely stated hypotheses, very limited generalizations, scarce results etc.). Previewers can be varied with respect to various tasks and you won't panic if
the weak points indicated are revealed during debates.

Effective presentations are based on a set of verbal, interpersonal, physical and communica­tive strategies which are needed to interact confidently and effectively with a range of audiences. Skilful presenters draw on a number of different means (e. g., graphical, visual, statistical, audiovisual and technological) to get the point across. However, apart from those, developing communication skills presupposes certain degree of flexibility not only in choosing the strategies mentioned but also in creating a comfortable psychological atmosphere of communication.

In the English-speaking world people are particularly keen on this psychological aspect since it helps presenters to "tune in" their listeners and facilitates grasping the purport of their message

The length of the presentation is determined by the time allotted and could be varied respectively; here the time limit considered is about 10 minutes
the way it is intend to. To establish mutual understanding (and to save face –
if necessary) they often turn to numerous disclaimers which can be used by analogy with previewers – with respect to form and content of the presentation – and express apologies, promises, appeals etc. Disclaimers can be used both at the feedforward stage (if necessary) and further, in handling questions.

The counterpart of the stage just considered is a brief review of what has been said. It is called feedback (stage IV) and aimed at some generalizations essential for "winding up" oral presentations as – apart from summarizing –
it serves to facilitate contacts with listeners (feedback proper), to confirm understanding and invite comments and questions.

It should be borne in mind that opening and closing (stages I and V) are considered as separate structural units, and also that all the stages mentioned should be delicately balanced: in terms of duration, the main body is – obviously – the lengthiest and the four other are proportionally the same.

Preparation

I. Planning. In terms of preparation, the beginning is exceedingly important – and commonly is planned last. It could be a very clear statement of the problem significance, or (depending on the audience and the content) a challenge, a topical reference, a striking visual. No less important is the end,
it should be flexible and largely determined by the content and the general effect produced by the previous parts of the presentation.

The content of the main body is in its turn determined by individual peculiarities of the pro­ject and also depends to a great extent on the time factor. In other words, the time limit imposes certain restrictions on what you choose to present. If you supply too much information (and speak rapidly) you are almost sure to fail. It is proper to carefully select only most essential elements with respect to both – key ideas and illustrative material. What you report should be brief and to the point, your explanations and examples – relevant and proportional, demonstrating familiarity not only with the topic explored but also sufficient depth of general subject knowledge. On the whole, your presentation should be easy to follow, reveal clear logic and cohesion throughout and within the parts.

Moreover, flexible time planning is very important. Presentations commonly run back to back in series and if you are not the first person in the series
the previous speakers might not finish on time and you will have to introduce changes in your plan. Also you should think in ad­vance what could be cut if you run out of time for some other reasons. While preparing you should not forget to time your talk and leave a couple of minutes for discussion.

And finally, a few comments on what is looked for in a good presentation. It should:

• give a good first impression (aspects of form are important);

• have a logical structure with clear signposting (to show where the ideas are leading);

• be done in good English;

• meet the audience's expectations and answer the questions in their minds;

• be at the right level for the listeners (some of whom might have an in-depth knowledge while others may lack specialised background);

• make no assumptions about the listeners' understanding (all presenters need to apply the "so what" test, to explain why something is a good idea).

II. Delivery. Public speaking is always a challenge – even for an experienced orator. It is quite a trial for non-native speakers of English since if they intend their message to reach the audience; they should do their best to maintain
an appropriate balance between fluency and accuracy. While using a foreign language it is vital that your ideas are clearly expressed, so special care should be taken, e. g. to pronounce terms in a conventional fashion. The way you speak should not interfere with comprehension, nor do errors impede communication.

To establish contact with listeners it is worthwhile to use an appropriate volume and speed, rhythm and intonation that could be varied where necessary. You should avoid speaking too fast or too slow – no matter how nervous you might feel. Some pauses are quite useful though in this respect: they help you draw the attention of the audience and give you time to recapitulate (only you should not stop between phrases for too long, otherwise it might turn awkward). Many presenters – especially beginners – think it proper to rehearse the talk (often, aloud, possibly in front of a couple of friends) to make it sound as realistic as possible.

You should also bear clearly in mind that the written variant of your project proposal can by no means be simply abridged and rehearsed – for at least one important reason rooted in the underlying stylistic peculiarities. What you have written differs greatly in terms of style from what you are going to present orally. The most obvious points you need to remember are as follows: on the one hand, longish statements should be shortened, or split and simplified, clichéd expressions altered appropriately to sound less formal; on the other hand, colloquial phrases and fillers (like you see, you know, so, well, now)and contracted forms (like I'd say, won't, hasn't)which are largely out of place in the written variant are quite acceptable while speaking; the same refers to the more frequent use of
the pronoun I (compared to impersonal structures).

III. Handling aids. It is equally important to consider how you are going to "perform", what aids to use and the way to handle them. What you need here is an appropriate balance between reading from notes and speaking. Just "retelling" your "story" like a poem learnt by heart or reading from notes, however skilfully you could do it, might either produce a funny effect, or have negative consequences depriving you of establishing an eye contact with the audience so crucial for any presentation. Watching the listeners' reaction is always an additional prompt to speakers helping them find the right pace or alter the focus, explain
or repeat (if/where necessary). The latter is especially relevant when you introduce something new or unusual, since your audience will be listening, not reading, and repeated presentation of ideas (using oral explanation, visual support, illustrative handouts etc.) could help to create a sort of variety and promote better understanding.

Another point to consider is what to put on handouts or OHTs[1]. Mind that when a presenter tries to be too "clever" turning every now and then to
the laptop as a prompt and then reading from notes the same text that is used for an OHT, the effect produced is rather poor and the audi­ence soon gets bored and frustrated. Mind also that too much focus on Power Point rather than basic content might be considered as inability to deal with questions. PowerPoint and OHP when used as aids proper – to illustrate, to explain something difficult, to save time from going into details, to generalise or summarise – are invaluable and enhance the positive effect. Thus, for instance, OHTs might contain key points or sets of data to be further commented on, complicated issues (in tables or graphs), a brief summary, and bibliography.

Before you start presenting, make sure your visuals could be seen from
the back of the room and while speaking leave OHTs or slides long enough for everyone to consider (unless the information is on handouts); also try to avoid white printing on dark background and fancy visual effects (the latter could be reduced to gradually building up diagrams; however, features other than "appear" for a normal text might distract the audience's attention). To sum up, "use
the PowerPoint presentation – don't let it use you", as Dr. C. Walter, an expert presenter puts it, – after all, you have something to say, you need to say it with calm confidence in a way that is accessible and interesting.

IV. Debates. Typically, project proposal presentation is followed by its discussion (which is termed here as debates –not to be confused with
the discussion of the results as a chapter of the written project). During this stage you need to be ready to answer questions, give arguments to support your point supply examples and definitions, hi academic discourse it is essential that
the terms are quite explicit. While writing or presenting a project proposal you cannot restrict yourself to simply listing the terms frequently used and supplying definitions from a dictionary, since quite often those definitions are not much helpful or informative. The so called extended definition – detailed and
ex­planatory – proves more useful. The extent to which you need to extend you definition largely depends on the "shared knowledge" of your reading audience and your purpose for writing. The same applies to oral presentations: if definitions are not included in the Introduction to your proposal, or you've chosen not
to mention them while speaking, you might be asked to supply definitions
to clarify your point or be more specific with respect to terminology.

It is also common knowledge that academic reasoning presupposes skills of argumentation, and handling questions is another issue that needs skilful and flexible approach. This is a crucial session in any presentation. If you handle questions badly you, risk undoing all the good that you have done. Somewhere in the Internet we chanced to come across the following stop strategy.

And what if you don't know the answer to a question? In this situation there are two options: you can either offer a partial answer to the audience (and hope this will create a discussion), or you can admit that you don't know – but offer to follow it up and find out if appropriate. Anyway, you are to be psychologically ready how to react in cases of "disaster" and be aware of possible consequences of silence. Long pauses are often embarrassing and to avoid complications there are various speech devices known as time fillers. If you organize them in short logical sequences as if to preview your chain of reasoning (and learn by heart) they might prove quite helpful: while "reciting" a filler (and, mind, no one knows it is one) you'll gain the precious time to concentrate and find an answer.

Section II opens by two units on terminology and argumentation – merely for the sake of convenience (they are structured along the same lines as those in Section I). The patterns offered are somewhat marginal – in the sense that they could be used in both written and oral presentations; however when it comes to choosing particular cliches, possible stylistic differences should be taken into account.

Exercise 2. Answer the following questions using the information from the text.

1. How are you going to start and to wind up your presentation?

2. How do you intend to plan it?

3. What elements of your project proposal seem most effective in this respect? How are you going to make acknowledgements and/or express gratitude?

4. What aids are you going to use during your presentation?

5. Will you need handouts or OHTs?

6. What information will be selected?

7. What difficulties could you foresee in handling them?

Exercise 3.Multiple choice. For each item below, circle the best answer.

1. The main idea of the reading is:

a) It's very difficult to give a good speech.

b) With a lot of research and practice, anyone can learn how to give a good speech.

c) The three basic parts of a speech are the introduction, the main body, and the summation.

d) Choosing a good topic is the most important part of making a good speech.

2. When preparing to make a speech, the first thing a speaker should do is:

a) choose a topic;

b) understand who the audience will be;

c) do a lot of research on the topic;

d) organize the speech.

3. According to the author, which of the following is the most difficult to accomplish in giving a speech:

a) instruct;

b) inspire;

c) entertain;

d) persuade.

4. The ideal length for a speech is:

a) as short as possible;

b) 20 minutes long;

c) 20–60 minutes long;

d) it depends on the topic.

5. The overall tone of the reading is:

a) serious and academic;

b) light and silly;

c) informative and humorous;

d) scientific and technical.

Exercise 4. Consider the following examples for the initial and final stages, for acknowledgements and expressing gratitude. Think of other possible variants appropriate to modify the procedure (imagine the reaction of your listeners if every second presenter uses the same cliches).

1. Opening (stage I)

Greeting	Good morning / afternoon / evening! Hello everyone / everybody!
Expressing (positive) attitude	I'm happy / so glad … – to see you all… – to have the chance of you found time to come and...

2. Closing (stage V)

That's practically all I intended to say...

I have to say stop / finish here as I've run out of time / my time has run out

It was great pleasure to present my project / discuss results / speak to such understanding audience

Thank you (for listening / your kind attention / being so patient)

Exercise 5. Fill in the table using the information from the text above.

 

Structural part	Purpose	Content
Introduction
Main body
Conclusion

Exercise 6. Reconstruct "skeletons" of intentions given below to make an example of feedforward (you might introduce changes where appropriate).

1. The work on the project presupposes the following steps:

Analyzing [x] is the first step... Describing [z] will be another one, aiming at... Following this [z] is explained... [X] is further discussed with reference to... For completeness it should be added that... Finally, [y] is used to illustrate...

2. In my research I intend to make the following claims.

First, that there is [x]. Second, that [x]... Third... And finally...

As stated at the outset, the study I'm going to report here will examine in detail the problems encountered by...

3. I plan to start off by arguing in favour of [x] to prove that it is inappropriate to treat cases of [x] as [z]. Next I intend to look at [y] in order to suggest that... Then I will compare [x] to [z] and put forward the view that...
In this case [x] is claimed to be...

4. The view utilised here is one which considers [x] as... While my analysis might leave many questions open, it could serve to provide an explanation for [x] which is usually left unexplained.

5. Thus the analysis proposed will show / explain [x]. Thus I've outlined in some detail the origin and causes of...

6. My presentation could be fittingly concluded with a word or two about [x] / My conclusions will focus on / In conclusion, I'd like to be allowed to add a word on my own share...

 

Exercise 7. What kinds of tools and visuals do you normally use in your presentations? What tips can you think of for using visuals effectively?

 

Exercise 8. What is important when presenting visuals? Which opinion(s) do you agree with? Read the information and exchange your opinion with the group mates.

Karen Hamilton, Marketing Manager

I think to be effective a good visual must focus on only a few points. It's important not to have too much information on one slide or transparency. Slide overload is bad because people will then spend time reading the slide rather than listening to the presenter. I normally use bullet points to structure information – I never write complete sentences. Headlines are important too.

 

Keith Sallis, Real Estate Manager	In my opinion the presenter is the focus of the presentation – not the visuals. The key purpose for using a visual aid is to help the audience understand the topic better. So the visuals should only be used to support the presenter's message. A process-flow chart slide, for example, helps people understand visually what you are describing verbally. If a visual distracts the audience's attention from what you're saying, it's useless.
Susan Liu, Export Manager	Above all, a slide or an overhead must be readable. If the audience can't read the slide, they will soon give up. That's why font size is very important. It should be as large as possible, I'd say at least 24. And sometimes it's also a good idea to use different colours to highlight some points. Using many different colours can be confusing though.
Barbara James, Market Researcher	What you say and what you show should always go together 100 %. So when you're not talking about the slide, it shouldn't be visible. I always switch off the display when I'm talking about something that has nothing to do with the slide. If people are busy looking at the slide, they aren't listening to what you're saying. It's better to use the В-key to return to a black screen or replace the slide with some form of wallpaper such as a company logo.
Javier Sanchez, Financial Analyst	For me it's very important that the presenter speaks to the audience and doesn't read to them! The speaker must make eye-contact and not watch the monitor or screen while he or she is talking. I think it's extremely boring when someone just reads slides word for word as if it were an essay or something.
Tony Benetti, Media Consultant	It's called "Death by PowerPoint" when people use so many sound effects and animations that the audience's attention is completely taken away from the delivery of the message. I think PowerPoint is a fantastic tool, but just because it has so many effects, you don't have to use them all. Overuse is overkill here.

Exercise 9. a) Using the text and exercises above) write out some of words which can be employed to express warming up and gratitude, and group them in the table.

 

Warming up	Gratitude

 

b) Write a "thank you" paragraph that might be used in your project;
be also able to express gratitude informally.

c)Write a brief paragraph summing someone's intentions (you might extend the pattern below):

N begins his argument / explains / describes / makes it (very) dear... / concludes...

Exercise 10. Discuss with your group mates the structure of each part of oral presentation.